The demand for reliable freshness monitoring technologies is growing in the food industry to enhance food safety and reduce waste. To address this need, this study incorporated varying concentrations of UiO-66 (0.0 %, 0.5 %, 1.0 %, 1.5 %, 2.0 %) into an intelligent film composed of watermelon peel pectin and betacyanins (BCs). This design aimed to improve the sensitivity of the freshness indicator for chilled meat by leveraging the gas adsorption properties of UiO-66. This resulted in enhanced square surface roughness (Sq) with UiO-66 due to agglomeration. Low UiO-66 content (up to 1.5 %) reduced the composite film's elongation at break (EAB), water vapor permeability (WVP), oxygen permeability (OP), and light transmittance while increasing its tensile strength (TS) and thermal stability as a result of the decreased crystallinity and hydrogen bonds. The B-U-1.5 film displayed high sensitivity to pH and ammonia vapors due to heterogeneous chemical adsorption. Furthermore, the B-U-1.5 film demonstrated a distinctive color variation from red-violet to orange and then to yellow, corresponding to the freshness stages of chilled meat: fresh, sub-fresh, and spoiled. This response was more precise compared to the performance of other films. The results suggest that incorporating 1.5 % UiO-66 optimizes the film's performance for monitoring chilled meat freshness.